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Hedysarum qilianshanense sp. nov. (Fabaceae, Hedysareae) is described and illustrated from the Qilianshan Mountains in Gansu, China. This new species is similar to H. przewalskii, but can be distinguished by its corolla being light purple to purple, standard 15-19 mm long, wings 14-16 mm long, keels 16-19 mm long, and the ovary and legume being glabrous. The new species can be easily distinguished from H. neglectum Ledeb. by its bract being shorter than the pedicel, and the ovary and legume being glabrous. Phylogenetic tree based on the nuclear ITS and ETS sequences shows that H. qilianshanense is sister to H. przewalskii, while the tree based on the plastid psbA-trnH, trnC-petN, trnL-F, trnS-G and petN-psbM sequences shows H. qilianshanense as sister to a clade consisting of H. hedysaroides, H. inundatum, H. americanum and H. neglectum. The new species is a diploid with the chromosome number 2n = 14. Based on morphological, phylogenetic and karyotypic evidence, the new species may originate from an ancient homoploid hybrid speciation event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]